Tappen Park

This park is named after World War I (1914-1918) veteran James Tappen.

James J. Tappen (1891-1918) served in Company D of the 308th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during World War I. He was killed on September 29, 1918, at Binarville, France, in the Battle of Argonne. In July 1934, a bill introduced by Alderman Daniel Leonard and signed by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia (1882-1947) named this park in Tappen’s honor. Before that, local residents called it Stapleton Park, for the surrounding neighborhood, though it had officially been known as Washington Square since 1867.